New bike news

14 July 2013 - 14:39

Marquez victorious at the German MotoGP

It had to happen. This week or the next, it just had to. Chasing Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa for the first seven rounds of the season, Marc Marquez has looked increasingly threatening with every passing race. And after securing pole on Saturday, Marquez today made it clear that he will capitalise on every opportunity to top the standings. He knew that he wouldn't get an opportunity like this every weekend, with both Lorenzo and Pedrosa sitting out with ruined collarbones, and boy did he make the most of it.

When the lights went out, Marquez had a start he will quickly want to forget - home rider Stefan Bradl overtook him on the outside before Marquez could say "Scheiße!" (s#@t in German), as did Valentino Rossi and Aleix Espargaro. Heading into the first corner, it was Bradl who led, followed by the Doctor, the CRT rider and the new boy. The action was close in the first five laps, with Rossi hot on the German's heels, and Marquez trying to force his way up the field. Repsol Honda's sole rider today first took care of Espargaro, then went past Mr.46 in the final corner on Lap 5, and on the very next lap, ended Bradl's dream of a victory at his home circuit by blazing past him.

Cal Crutchlow had a similarly horrid start - he dropped from 2nd to 6th by the time he had ridden through the first corner, and would've been in considerable pain after his twin crashes earlier this weekend. He didn't give up though, as is the norm with him, and one after the other, overtook every other rider ahead of him till he found Rossi. And then, he sped past him as well.

Marquez, in the meantime, had put enough distance between himself and the rest of the pack. At one point, he led Crutchlow by well over two seconds, looking relaxed. But the Brit gave him a proper run for his money, cutting the lead down to 1.6 seconds after some truly spirited riding. In the end though, 30 laps turned out to be too few for the Monster Tech 3 rider to pass Marquez, and the Repsol crossed the finishing line first, with Crutchlow finishing second (his fourth podium finish this season, a first for a British rider since 1982), and Rossi in a distant third. Bradl finished fourth to some loud cheers from the home crowd, and Espargaro could only manage eighth after making rapid advances earlier in the race.

These are some stunning numbers - of a total of 8 races, Marquez has won 2, and been on the podium 7 times this season. He is now leading the riders' championship by 2 points as well, and with Lorenzo announcing a break until Indianapolis - which happens to be the first race after the MotoGP summer break - and Pedrosa unsure of competing at Laguna Seca, Marquez has a golden chance of pulling out a properly big lead. Will he be able to cash in on the absence of his Spanish compatriots, or will the celebrations be short-lived? We'll wait for next week and Pedrosa's iffy collarbone to give us the answer.